Olympics | Men's gymnastics: A strong start for Team USA

LONDON - The Americans insisted for months that they can contend for the Olympic title in men's gymnastics.

LONDON — The Americans insisted for months that they can contend for the Olympic title in men’s gymnastics.

Another night like this, and they won’t need to say a word; the color of their medals will do the talking for them.

While perennial gymnastics powerhouses China and Japan bobbled and wobbled their way through qualifying yesterday, the Americans proved they’ve got the big skills to back up their big hopes. They did not count a single fall, and their final score of 275.342 was almost three points ahead of resurgent Russia.

“We’re going to do everything we can to make it finish like that,” team captain Jonathan Horton said. “I was actually joking … earlier, ‘Can we just get the medals now?’ But we’ve got one more day to go, and we’re pumped about it.”

The team final is on Monday. Since 1997, when scoring began starting anew in the final, only three first-day winners have failed to finish atop the podium at either the Olympics or world championships.

Japan, the heavy favorite coming in, is fifth after several uncharacteristic errors by three-time world champion Kohei Uchimura. Defending Olympic champion China, which has won the past five world titles, is sixth after a splat-filled day.

Unlike qualifying, when teams get to drop their lowest score, there will be no margin of error in Monday’s final. Teams compete three gymnasts in each event, and all three scores count. Botch one routine, and it could be the difference between going home with a gold medal or a souvenir T-shirt.

But the Americans believe they’re actually better built for that high-risk, high-reward formula, and this performance will only fuel their confidence that they can become the first U.S. team to win gold since Bart Conner and his Golden Gang of 1984.

Danell Leyva posted the highest individual score, while John Orozco was fourth, and the team had the highest total on floor exercise and high bar. They had only three falls the entire day, and every American — Leyva, Orozco, Horton, Jake Dalton and Sam Mikulak — made at least one individual final.

“Now is when everyone is finally, completely realizing how much we believe in it,” Leyva said, “ and today was definite huge proof of that.”

The day did not look so promising at the start, when Horton went spinning off the pommel horse, his worst event. But the Americans have an unshakable belief in themselves, and they barely blinked at the miscue. Mikulak, Leyva and Orozco followed with stylish sets more typical of the Japanese or Chinese.

After slowly closing the gap in each event, the Americans finally took the lead with one high bar routine more dazzling than the next.

Orozco set the tone, getting such great air on his release moves that he could almost make eye contact with the folks hanging out on the first concourse. Horton was up next. He has been struggling on the high bar the past few months, but not this time. Once, twice, three times he tossed himself over the bar, flipping and twisting before coming down and easily grabbing it.

When his feet hit the mat with a solid thud, he pumped his fists and smiled.

“We definitely can carry on the confidence,” Mikulak said. “We just want to stay humbled to make sure we go out and perform to the best of our ability.”